Innocence
by TotallyLosingIt
Summary: A blast of energy leaves Kid Flash in an... altered state. You think teen!Wally was bad? How do you handle an eight-year-old hyperactive redhead with superspeed?
1. Chapter 1

**Heeeyo I'm back. Thought you got rid of me, huh? *cackles* Nope, sorry. :P Anywho, obviously I couldn't stay away from Wally. Did you know he's taken the form of my muse now? Yeah, he talks to me in my head. As if I wasn't crazy enough as it was.**

**Wally: It's dark and scary and dangerous in here. She likes to beat up hot guys. Seriously.**

**See what I have to live with? -eyeroll- Wally, please say something useful.**

**Wally: Lost (also known as TotallyLosingIt) doesn't own Young Justice or Cartoon Network or myself. How was that?**

**Me: Suckish. You gotta add _flair, _you know?**

**Wally: She doesn't appreciate me enough.**

"Okay, _who said it?" _Wally yelled aloud. A blast of bright yellow energy barely missed him as he deftly leapt onto the heels of his palms in an awkward hand-stand that turned quickly into a back handspring. The following explosion managed to knock him back a few yards, enough to send him slamming into the wall.

"It wasn't me," Robin snickered from a few feet away. He pulled out a couple of explosive batarangs and sent them toward the target. Two beams of yellow later and the batarangs were ash. "You know I don't jinx missions."

"Will you guys focus?" Artemis shouted, all the way across the room. She leaned out from behind the pillar that had been concealing her and sent a volley of arrows towards where the explosions were coming from, but the creature merely turned around and, with a small sweeping motion of his hand, disintegrated them.

This particular villain was not only hopped up on the new and improved Blockbuster virus, but already had destructive powers to begin with. Not to mention the combination of the two wasn't doing much for the ex-scientist-turned-psycho-monster on an intellectual level. Wally would be surprised if it could even form coherent thought. The thing wasn't exactly human after all.

"_Somebody _said the mission was going to be easy," he groused. "Famous last words are famous for a reason, you know!"

"Don't get your spandex tied in a knot," Robin said, expertly back-flipping off a wall and throwing more explosive devices at the monster previously known as Dr. Edward Boyle. They didn't even get close. "Maybe nobody said it. Maybe this mission was heavy on the _dis _from the get-go."

"It was Artie," Wally decided, watching as Superboy launched himself face-first at the monster. A blast of energy hit him square in the face, but to his credit it didn't even look like it fazed the big guy. "She must've done it for kicks."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Artemis sniffed from her position. She tapped the comlink in her ear, trying again to reach M'gaan. The green girl had been thrown somewhere off to the right by a beam of light and hasn't gotten back up since. "Megan! Tell me you're okay, Megan, pick up!"

Kaldur got the furthest out of all of them, using Superboy as a distraction and, after creating two wicked swords out of water, slashed down wildly at the huge creature. An enraged roar was pulled from his mouth, his arm rising for the obvious. But Wally anticipated this and, concentrating hard, sped up his molecules to a vibrating function. Everything slowed down—Robin almost hanging in midair as he dodged a beam of yellow, Superboy stuck on a wall as he was still impacting it, and the giant's arm still stretched above his head, ready to deal Kaldur a blow that would probably knock their tempo-leader unconscious.

Wally lived for these moments. He ran at normal speed—for him, anyways—to the monster, whose arm was accelerating faster than he'd anticipated, giving him a solid punch to where the ribs used to be. As the monster slowly changed course Kid Flash turned his attention to Kaldur, decelerating himself slowly and cautiously scooping Aqualad into a bridal-style carry. If he'd gone any faster he could've snapped his leader's bones just from a tap, one of the reasons he always had to be careful when trumping about at this speed.

Everything caught up to him as his molecules slowed down, and he was already across the room with his leader in his arms. He set Aqualad down and raced back, only a couple Machs faster than the rest of the world, appearing at Artemis' side.

"I heard that, Blondie," he growled good-naturedly. The archer gave him a warning look, telling him he was testing her patience and should step back before she knocked him on his ass. "You _did, _didn't you? You just love doing the complete opposite of what I say!"

"Not now, Baywatch," Artemis said, rolling her eyes. A high pitched whine assaulted her ears, freezing her limbs even as she tried reaching for another arrow.

Wally heard it, too, and was already reacting. He didn't have the time to accelerate _and _get them both out of the line of fire, so he did the natural, stupid super-hero thing and gave the blonde girl a hard shove.

He must've been moving faster than he thought, because the archer was launched a good ten or so yards, almost crashing into the remains of the student desks in the lab. Wally was right behind her, not planning on sticking around to feel the after-effects of a direct hit from the yellow beam.

It hit him anyways, glancing off his back and miraculously leaving his Kid Flash uniform intact. Tingles of sharp, electrifying pain shot clear up to Wally's skull, leaving lights dancing in front of his eyes in negative colors. Liquid fire spread up his limbs, each of his bones feeling like they were being welded together by a blowtorch. He tried to get up but stumbled again and fell flat on his face, and suddenly there was a crack in his goggles.

Megan was there suddenly, apparently recovering from her ordeal, too. She grabbed Wally's shoulder and helped him up, flying him up and out of the way of yet another beam. "You alright?" she asked. Wally thought her voice sounded like she was trying to talk to him through a jar around her mouth. The words were foggy and distant, and the pain was still rolling through him in waves with every pump of his heart, pulsating faster and faster.

He managed to nod, though, even give her a bit of a smile to tell her he was glad _she _was alright. Megan, bless her heart, stayed a second longer to check him over. "It wears off in a couple of minutes," she supplied.

Wally translated that into another thirty seconds. He did, after all, heal at an accelerated rate. He nodded. "Go help the others," he said, or tried to say. The words came out sounding blurred together. Megan gave him a sweet smile and flew off.

He could hear the sounds of the battle going on around him, although it was getting harder and harder to pay attention. Wally counted the seconds impatiently, forcing himself to sit still. It didn't work.

The tingling intensified, flowing all over his body but focusing mostly on his head and chest area. That was bad, wasn't it? His breathing picked up as he started to panic. Head and chest areas were the most vital part to the human body, so it definitely couldn't be good that the pain was increasing there.

Artemis was the first to notice something was seriously wrong with him as she turned to knock off a snide remark about him sleeping on the job. Superboy, Aqualad, and Miss Martian had the situation under control after the three of them had attacked the monster at the same time, different points where M'gaan had located the weak spots in its armor.

The fifteen year old was jerking, convulsing, almost, and his form kept flickering in and out like static from a television set.

"KF?" she called cautiously. When he didn't answer she grabbed her bow from its position leaning against a cement column and ran to the redhead.

"What's wrong?" Megan asked anxiously, floating over to where Artemis dropped to her knees in front of Wally. "He was fine a second ago!"

"Don't touch him," Artemis warned, holding out an arm. Small whimpers of pain erupted from Wally's lips as he flickered back into reality again. "I think his molecules are reacting to the blast he'd gotten. He keeps speeding them up and slowly them down according to his convulsions."

"Wally?" Robin was by her side then, but Wally had fallen unconscious. Slowly his convulsions stopped and he finally rested on their plane of reality.

The others stopped and stared. The boy who'd once been fifteen only a second ago was now considerably smaller, with a child-like baby face that was slack and serene as if he was sleeping.

Robin was the first to break the silence. "Flash is gonna kill us."


	2. Chapter 2

**Wally: Lost looooves review, Lost loooooooves reviews, Lost looooooo-**

**Me: Wally, shut up.**

**Wally: _Somebody's _high strung. -sing song- Lost is hiiiiiigh strung, Lost is hiiiiiiiiigh strung-**

**Me: Please ignore us and enjoy the story. Thanks for all the reviews/favorites/alerts! I love you all.**

**Wally: Lost looooooooves me, Lost looooooooooooooooooves me!**

Barry took a deep breath. And then another. And then another.

Robin watched him from his position in line with the rest of his teammates, minus Wally. The brand new eight-year-old was still sleeping peacefully in the infirmary. It'd been a good thirty minutes since the battle with the monster, and Robin knew that his mentor would probably be in the lab, poking and prodding the samples he'd taken from the transformed scientist, if the complications of the mission hadn't been so… _complicated. _But Batman stood in front of them, positioned slightly behind Barry as if to let the Scarlett Speedster have point in the lecture.

Flash had gotten to Mt. Justice in fifteen seconds flat, all the way from _Siberia _where he was helping Wonder Woman save endangered tigers. Robin knew how passionate Wally's uncle was about endangered animals—it meant a lot to his wife, Wally's aunt Iris. But it was also understandable that his nephew came first. And this situation was a bit more unique than the other messes Wally'd had gotten himself into.

"How did this happen?" Flash said, slowly and carefully, sinking his teeth into every syllable.

Kaldur started to step forward, but Artemis held him back. "I saw what happened," she said, raising her chin. "Kid ran to me as I was trying to fire another arrow at the monster. There was this high pitched noise, and he shoved me out of the way of another yellow beam. The beam glanced off his back and he fell to the ground."

Megan spoke up at that point. "I'd been hit with the beam, too," she said. "It stung for a minute or so and kept me down, but I wasn't affected like Wally was."

"Neither was Superboy," Robin pointed out. "He'd been hit point blank and he's definitely not eight."

Barry closed his eyes from behind the cowl's eye pieces. When he opened them again, he stared long and hard through the infirmary's window at his nephew, who was curled up, red hair ruffled, green eyes closed. "I'm going to check out those samples," he said. "Something in that blast did this to him, and I'm going to find out what. Batman can help me." It was more of an order than a request, but Batman nodded silently, as always.

He paused and looked back at the team. A slow smile, slightly wicked, spread across his face. "As for you five, you're on baby-sitting duty. Alert me when he wakes."

The groan could've been heard from space.

…

"He's kinda cute," Megan giggled as she leaned over the bed to tuck the pillow under Wally's head. Wally stirred, but didn't wake up.

Artemis thought he looked absolutely adorable, but she'd never admit it aloud. As a child, Wally had an innocence to his that was almost heartbreaking, and his hair was a lot redder, as if that was possible. "Yeah, he's alright," she muttered, looking away and crossing her arms.

"Man," Robin said, laughing his signature cackle that drove everybody crazy. "Wally's gonna flip when he wakes up. How's he supposed to flirt with anyone if he's eight?"

"Duh," Superboy said, speaking up for the first time. At everybody's look he shrugged and went back to reading the magazine he'd gotten from the side table by the waiting chairs. "Girls dig the younger guys."

"Really?" Now Robin's face just looked hopeful.

"No," Artemis said firmly. "Not even close."

"Well, _I _think he's cute," Megan said, gushing. She even leaned over to give Wally a kiss on the forehead, when suddenly the kid's eyes flew open.

Startled, Megan backed up a couple steps as Wally turned his large, bright green eyes towards her, and then looked around the room. Robin got up and grinned at him. "Of all the messes you've gotten yourself in," he said, "this takes the cake."

Wally started screaming, voice full of terror as he scrambled his tiny legs in an effort to climb up the bed. "Kidnapper!" he shrieked. _"Crazy _kidnappers in costumes! Bad guys! Where's my _mom?"_

"Wally!" Artemis yelled, running over to block his escape as he leapt out of the bed. "Wally, chill out! We're your friends, remember?"

"Back off, lady," Wally shot at her, "I know karate and I have the Flash's phone number on speed dial!"

"You don't have a phone," Superboy said coolly, picking up Wally by the scruff of his too-big shirt. Wally screamed again and slipped out of the shirt, dodging him and making a beeline for the door. Robin was there in an instant, grabbing him in a bear hug and carrying him back to the bed.

Wally sat there, shivering, but did his best to glare up at the teens. "Where am I?" he demanded. "Who are you? Where's my mom?"

"Your mom?" Robin was the first to speak up. "Wally, your mom is—"

"What did you do to her?" Wally yelled. "I swear, if you hurt her, I'll—"

"Wally, calm down," Megan said soothingly. "Nobody did anything to your mom. She's fine, okay? And we're your friends. Don't you remember?"

"I've never seen any of you before in my life," Wally said. His voice was thick with venom, despite the fact that he hadn't even hit puberty yet. He peered up at Superboy, recognizing the logo. "Wait," he exclaimed. "You're not Superman."

Superboy's fists clenched. "You're right, I'm not."

Wally's face clouded. "You're some kind of an anti-Superman, right? Look, I don't know what you want with me, okay? I don't cost a lot of money! My dad—" He broke off abruptly and looked away. "We don't have money, if that's what you want."

"We don't want money, Wally," Kaldur said in his soft, soothing tone. "We're your friends."

"How do you know my name?" Wally demanded. "Why do you keep saying that? If you're my friends, let me _go."_

The team exchanged glances. "We can't do that, Wally," Kaldur said slowly. "You're sick, and you have to stay here in the infirmary."

Wally crossed his small arms. "You're lying. I can tell when people lie, and you're lying."

"Then tell me this," Artemis said, crouching down to get eye level with the eight-year-old. "Am I lying when I saw, you're our _friend, _Wally, and we're yours?"

Wally glared at her, arms still crossed. His bright green eyes faded a little bit and he bit his lip. She wasn't lying, but he didn't confirm it. Instead he looked away and said, "I want my mom."

"Then let's see if we can get your parents here," she said, starting to stand. Wally grabbed her hand and pulled her back down. This time his eyes were bright green with insistence.

"Not my parents," he said. "Just my mom."

Artemis blinked, confused, and Wally let go and crossed his arms again. He was hugging himself this time, she noticed, instead of it being a defensive gesture he'd used so much as a teen. Artemis looked at Robin, who knew him the best, and the Boy Wonder shrugged.

"Okay, Wally," she said softly, standing up fully. "Just your mom."

"Superboy will stay here and keep an eye on you," Kaldur said, waving at the dark-haired teen. Superboy scowled at Aqualad, but he shook his head. The four walked out of the infirmary room, the door sliding closed behind them.

…

"I've got it." Batman's quiet voice broke through Barry's reverie. He was remembering Wally as an eight-year-old, the first time he'd met his nephew. He didn't think he could handle going through that again.

Barry dropped everything and sped to Bruce's side, peering over his shoulder. "What is it?"

"The sample of your blood reacted the same way the sample of Wally's did," he said, picking up a vial of orange liquid. "The yellow beam of energy basically sped up the molecules to the point of a vibrating function, so fast that it reversed the age of the organs and the rest of the body and reverted him back to the size of a child."

"That's never happened to me before," Barry pointed out. "And I can't count the number of time I've been hit with an energy beam of that magnitude and still have fingers and toes left."

"Dr. Boyle's powers were altered by the Blockbuster theorem," Batman theorized. "We've never been up against a formula like that. It was probably a bonus that Wally was already speeding up to a vibrating function as he was hit with the beam."

"Okay," Barry nodded, accepting the idea, "so how do we reverse it?"

Batman looked at him.

"Forget it," Barry said darkly, "he's not being an eight-year-old again. It would kill him."

The other hero sighed. "We're going to have to stimulate the molecules again, see if we can reverse the process. I'll need another sample of your blood, however."

Barry rolled his eyes. "Just do it."

_"Aqualad to Flash."_

Barry tapped his ear. "Go for Flash."

_"Kid is awake." _There was a slight pause on the other end of the line that made Barry's stomach do flip flops, even as Batman stuck the needle into his arm. _"He is a bit different than anticipated."_

"How so?"

Another pause. _"He seems to have the memory of himself as an eight-year-old."_

"Oh." That was bad, Barry guessed. "He doesn't recognize you?"

_"No. He tells us he wants his mother. Is there any way we can contact her?"_

Barry's heart dropped to his toes. "No, um… she died a couple years ago."

The pause was even longer this time. _"Oh. That is unfortunate. What about his father?"_

"No," Barry said, and his voice was a lot darker than he meant it to be. "Keep him there, I'm on my way." Barry looked at Batman, who was through drawing his blood. "You hear all that?"

Batman nodded. "If he has the memory of an eight-year-old—"

"He probably thinks he's still living with his dad," Barry said grimly. "I'll be back soon. Let me know if the tests are successful, okay?"

Batman didn't bother to reply—Barry was already out of the room.


	3. Chapter 3

**Wally: Guys, tell her she can't do this!**

**Me: Wally, shut up! You'll spoil it!**

**Wally: No seriously! She's going to rip me apart piece by piece, strip away my spirit, destroy everything that defines who I am! She's going to—**

**Me: -slaps hand over Wally's mouth- Hey, you look kinda hot that way… and the silence. Dear Lord, I should've thought of this sooner.**

**Wally: Mmmph mmmph mmmph oomph mmph!**

**Me: On second thought, maybe I should just get out the chloroform. Thanks for reviewing/favoriting/subscribing, guys! It means a lot to me! And to Wally, because he's self-centered like that. Anywho, on with the story!**

"Watcha doing?"

Anybody else probably would've jumped a foot in the air, but Robin was a ninja, and managed to keep his typing up at full speed with only the slightest falter in his concentration. "Something Wally—err, the kid—something he said bothered me."

Artemis plopped into the chair next to him and peered over his shoulder at the wrist computer he was concentrated on. "Rudolph West?" She put the pieces together. "Ah, Wally's dad… that bothered me too."

"Wally never told me about his dad," Robin muttered. "And we tell each other everything. Now that I think about it, every time I mentioned his parents he shut down and then redirected the conversation with a joke."

"What's he's best at," the archer murmured. She tapped his shoulder and pointed at an article. "There."

Robin gave her a small smile and clicked on the link. "So where's everyone else?"

"Well," Artemis said, leaning back in the chair with a heavy sigh, "Megan managed to coax Superboy into playing trucks with Wally."

"Shouldn't that be the other way around?"

Artemis shook her head and laughed. "No, Wally seemed pretty dead set on staying in bed until his stomach rumbled and he tasted Megan's cookies. Apparently she cooks when she's nervous, and Wally didn't seem to mind once he knew they weren't poisoned, just burned half to death." She paused, frowning a little bit. "He's ridiculously smart for an eight-year-old."

Robin shrugged. "He'd always been ahead of the rest of his generation academic wise, even before he met Barry and switched to being a science major. Not to mention, he's _Wally _we're talking about here."

"Oh yeah," Artemis laughed. "Can't forget that one."

Robin suddenly shut off his wrist computer and stood up abruptly. "Dead end," he explained quickly to Artemis, who stood with him. "I guess we'll never know. If you'll excuse me?" And without another word the Boy Wonder had disappeared.

Artemis rolled her eyes skyward. "I hate it when he does that," she muttered. Still, the way the younger boy had run off was… odd. Artemis wondered what exactly it was he'd found, because it definitely wasn't a dead end. Robin sure was a suckish liar.

She decided to ignore it for the moment, however, because Superboy's tell-tale roar of frustration was starting to shake the foundation of the mountain, and she had a guess as to what he was so upset about. Artemis grabbed her bow, just in case, and raced down the hall to the training room where the rest of her teammates resided.

When she reached the door she stopped and stared, not sure what she was looking at. Megan was floating up above with both hands to her head, concentrating hard but with an amused smile on her face. Aqualad was lying on the ground, stomach down and arms outstretched as if he'd just missed catching a football. And Superboy was in the middle of the room, panting from exertion and fury, hunched over with his fists clenched.

He saw Artemis and seethed, "I _hate _kids!"

Wind flew by Artemis and made her ponytail whip about her face, a blur of black and white flashing across her vision so fast she wasn't even sure she saw it. "Grab him," Megan said frantically, waving her arm towards the blur as it passed by her. The blur slowed until it melted into eight-year-old Wally, who was laughing a cackle that would make Robin jealous.

"This is so cool!" he exulted, and then he sped up again and disappeared.

"He still has his speed?" Artemis yelled. "Why didn't anybody tell me this?"

"Nobody knew," Kaldur said, brushing himself off. Artemis had never seen the Atlantean so annoyed. "We must catch him."

Wally jerked to a stop next to him and nearly crashed into them both. "I'd like to see you try," he said in a mocking tone. "What's to stop me from walking out right now?"

"Wallace Rudolph West!"

Wally visibly flinched and peered over his shoulder bashfully. "Aunt Iris?"

Artemis saw the ginger woman standing in the doorway of their training room, but she didn't believe it. The woman was beautiful, in her late twenties, and had her arms across her chest that was so familiar to Wally's she wondered for a second if the blast made a duplicate, older, female version of him.

Iris strode toward her nephew with a purpose. "Wally, what on earth are you doing?"

"It wasn't my fault," Wally whined slightly. "I was kidnapped by evil supervillains who probably want to ransom me off to the Justice League!" He gasped, recoiling a little bit and glaring at Artemis, his closest target. "Are you a hostage too?"

Iris rolled her jade green eyes and ruffled Wally's hair. "No, silly, these are my friends. I asked them to look after you while I was gone."

The Flash appeared next to her, in full costume and everything. Wally's eyes lit up and he launched himself at his hero, nearly knocking the speedster over. "Uncle Barry!"

"Hey, kiddo," he said, smiling and hugging the younger boy. "I called your Aunt Iris to come pick you up. You okay with that?"

Wally sniffled, burying his face into Flash's costume. "I thought I wasn't ever gonna see you again," he said in a small voice.

Barry's arms tightened around him protectively and he closed his eyes against Wally's hair. "No problem, bud," he said. "I'll never leave you alone. Promise."

Iris let the two have their moment and walked over to where the team was converging, watching the reunion. "Hello," she said, smiling as she reached out her hand to shake. "I'm Wally's Aunt Iris. Flash is my husband. It's nice to finally meet you—Wally talks about you all the time. He asked me to come over today to take Wally to our house. He might feel more comfortable there."

Kaldur was the first to step up, shaking the redhead's hand. "I am Kaldur'ahm. Please, call me Kaldur."

"Aqualad," Iris confirmed, nodding. "Wally has a very high opinion of you. He looks up to you a lot."

The smallest beginnings of a bashful smile lit up Kaldur's face. Artemis was sure she'd never seen the Atlantean so happy.

Megan scooted up next. "Hi, I'm M'gaan! But, my earth name is Megan, so you can call me that."

Iris laughed. "Ah yes, the hot, bubbly green girl with the amazing cooking."

The Martian's eyes lit up. "Really, he said that?"

"Artemis," Artemis said, shaking Iris' hand. "I can see where Wally gets his looks."

Iris gave her a long look, a big smile creeping onto her face. "Wally's spitfire," she said slowly. Then she threw back her head and laughed—a musical sound. "Yes, red hair runs in the family."

Artemis didn't know what to say. Spitfire? What was that supposed to mean? Wally'd probably been talking about her again behind her back, the two-face. She gave Iris an awkward smile, while Robin swooped in suddenly.

"Oh, hi, Aunt Iris!" he said happily, giving Wally's aunt a hug.

"Robin," Iris said, smiling. "And how's the old bat been?"

Robin made a face. "In a word? Gloomy."

Iris laughed again. "Alrighty, so that's four of you down," she said, ticking off her fingers. "Now, where is…?"

Robin nudged Superboy with an elbow to the gut, not that it did much. Superboy sent him a withering look, but stepped up. "Hi," he said awkwardly, looking away. "I'm—"

"Supey!" Iris said, breaking into a grin. She grabbed him and pulled him into a hug, surprising all the teens. "Wally has told me a lot of things about you. All of them good," she hurried on after seeing Superboy's surprised look. "You're like a brother to him."

"Uncle Barry, can I see my mom?" Wally's small voice drifted back to them as Barry carried the eight-year-old in his arms.

Flash looked down at the child and said in a gentle voice Artemis didn't know he had, "No, Wally, your mom has some things to take care of. How about we go to our house, instead? Is that okay with you?"

"I guess so," Wally said, a little uncertain as they stopped next to the teens. "And what about _them?"_

"Wally, be nice," Iris scolded. She looked to the teenagers. "You guys will come over and help us out, right?"

Artemis almost laughed at the looks on her teammates' faces. Iris turned her bright green, hopeful eyes towards them and tilted her head just a bit. How could you say no to that face? "Sure," Artemis said, surprising everyone by speaking up. "We _all _will, won't we guys?"

The three boys sent looks that could melt her on the spot if either of them were Superman, while Megan just looked delighted. "Of course we will!" she said excitedly.

Iris' puppy pout immediately shifted gears and she grinned. "Awesome! You guys can watch him while I cook dinner!"

"Wait," Batman said, coming in then. He was holding a small Dixie cup—Artemis thought he looked a little ridiculous, but she'd never admit it to the Bat's face. "Have him drink this."

Wally turned his wide eyes towards Batman. "Whoa, you're Batman!" he exclaimed, awed.

Batman arched an eyebrow in his direction and it showed through the eyepieces of his cowl. "Drink," was the only word uttered, but Artemis saw his lips twitch. Probably fighting a scowl, she figured—no way would Batman be smiling at eight-year-old Wally.

Wally looked to his aunt and uncle, who both nodded. "Um, okay," he said. "What is it?"

This time there was a definite twitch. "Red Bull."

Barry immediately spoke up. "Um, Bats, I don't think it's the greatest idea having Wally—"

_"Altered _Red Bull," Batman said, giving him a look. "It should speed up his molecules, preferably involuntarily or else we may have a hyper child on our hands."

"As if he wasn't hyper enough?" Robin muttered under his breath.

Barry still looked uncertain, but he nodded to Wally again, and the kid reached for the cup with shaky hands and downed the whole thing. Everyone leaned forward, anticipating, as Wally made a face and licked his lips.

Suddenly Wally froze, eyes wide, and he started to shake wildly. He shook so hard that the friction caused even Barry to drop him, although he landed on his feet and then crashed to his knees. His form flickered in and out of existence again.

"Wally?" Barry yelled, reaching towards him, but Batman held an arm out to stop him. "Wally!"

"Wait," Batman said through his teeth.

Iris clutched at her husband and Barry held her, watching Wally's flickering form. The team held their breaths, waiting until, finally, Wally solidified again.

He definitely wasn't fifteen again.

The new five-year-old Wally was wide awake, and the tears he'd started to cry were drying on his face as he looked up curiously at the older people in the room. "Hi," he said brightly, "my name's Wally. What's yours?"

**Me: ... Oops.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Me: Okay, I'm bad.  
>Wally: I told you you should've updated last week.<br>Me: I knoooow, okay, I know! I have a valid excuse!  
>Wally: Being on vacation is not a valid excuse. You don't get to relax until I'm me again.<br>Me: Okay, now you're just making this up as you go along.  
>Wally: Am not!<br>Me: -eyeroll- Whatever you say, Baywatch. Anywho, enjoy!**

_"Awwww!" _Megan immediately squealed, diving on the tiny version of Wally and scooping him up into her arms. He was way too skinny and way too small for Robin's liking—it was just weird to look at him.

Barry whirled on Batman immediately, who was busy studying the paper cup that Wally'd dropped after he drank the _altered _Red Bull inside. "What the he—"

"Barry!" Iris scolded, and Megan clapped her hands over Wally's tiny ears and glared at the mentor.

A flush spread across his cheeks, "I was gonna say _heck," _he muttered. "Batman, what did you _do?"_

"It seemed to have an adverse effect," Batman said, frowning.

"You think?" Artemis shrieked. "Wally's _tinier _than before!"

Wally curled into Megan's chest and ducked his head under his chin, peering up and out at the rest of the crowd from beneath his long eyelashes shyly. Megan's lower lip began to quiver and her eyes grew wide as she hugged the boy tighter.

"Wally, honey," Iris said, holding out her arms. "Come here, let's get a look at you."

Wally immediately shrunk away from her, squeezing his eyes shut and shook his head ever so slightly. Iris recoiled, a little hurt, but she turned to Batman and Flash and the rest of the kids and said, "He doesn't recognize me, so he has to be six or younger. My guess is four or five—he was always small for his age until he got his powers."

"He seems to like Megan," Artemis said softly as the Martian girl floated up and down in the air, much to Wally's delight.

"It must've been too high of a dose," Batman decided. He turned to go, paused to look at Barry, and arched an eyebrow.

"You want another blood sample," Barry grumbled, "I know. Kids, Iris, look after him please?"

"No problem, honey," Iris said, giving her masked husband a quick peck on the lips. "Go figure out how to turn him back."

"This is so bizarre," Robin said thoughtfully to Wally's mentor as he walked past. "Heavy on the _biz. _It's like the more attuned to his speed he is, the younger he gets. I always thought that Wally would run and just be faster than everybody else."

Barry shook his head. "Wally can consciously speed up his molecules. It pretty much slows everybody else down and that's how he zips around as fast as he does. I tell him not to go too fast because if he does he could tear up the ground and cause a nuclear explosion, all that jazz. We only go as fast as we need to."

_"Flash," _Batman growled, and Barry rolled his eyes and, after giving his nephew a long, worried look, raced after the Dark Knight.

"So," Robin said, drawing the word out as the five children and Iris stared at Wally. "What exactly do we do now?"

Wally's eyes filled with fresh tears and he started bawling again. Megan, shocked, floated back to the ground and set him down as he cried. She shot a helpless look towards his aunt, who looked just as baffled as she was.

"Wally, it's alright," she said, kneeling down next to him. "What's wrong, sweetheart? Tell me, use words."

"I want my mama," he said through quivering lips, and then the tears started up again. "I want my mama now!"

Iris tried to gather the little boy up in her arms but he crab-walked away from her until he'd backed himself into the corner of the training room, still sobbing. Iris looked desperately at the other kids for help, and Artemis found herself moving quickly towards her young teammate.

"Shhh, Wally," she said soothingly, "it's alright. Hey, now, don't cry. Big boys don't cry, right?"

Wally immediately bit his lip and looked at her warily, but he nodded slowly. Artemis smiled and held out her arms, waiting for him to come to her. To her surprise, he got up cautiously and waddled over to her, allowing her to envelope him in a comforting hug. Artemis sat back on her haunches and rocked him back and forth, running a hand through his hair and whispering comforting words in his ear. In minutes, he was asleep.

The other stared at her as she got up without any difficulty and turned around to face them. "We should get him to his bed," she suggested softly, and pushed past them all into the hallway and to Wally's room, where she set him down in his messy bed and covered him with covers. On impulse, she pressed her lips to his forehead in a gentle kiss, and then slowly backed away and closed the door.

Artemis turned around to find her teammates and Iris staring at her, Wally's aunt with a mischievous, knowing smile on her face. A blush crept up her cheeks. "What? What are you staring at?"

"How did you do that?" Megan said, awe-struck. "He wouldn't even let me touch him, and you know how Wally acts when he's fifteen around you!"

Artemis shrugged and walked past her to go into the kitchen, the others following her like lost dogs. "I had a little sister once. She was four when… anyways, I figured if I just did what I did with Millie, he'd calm down. And he did. It's no big deal."

"Yeah it is," Superboy said bluntly.

Kaldur stepped forward, giving the clone a sidelong glance. "I believe what Superboy is trying to say is, _thank you."_

Artemis turned around before they could see her blushing again. If Wally retained his memories when he was turned back to normal again, she'd never live this down.

…

Barry was _still _fuming. Batman was one of the smartest people in the league—actually, no, he was _the smartest _person in the league—and he not only failed to resolve Wally's problem, but he actually turned him _younger _than he already was. Barry could do the math in his head. Another screw-up and Wally could be in diapers—or worse, he might not even come back at all.

He sat still, although he was positively vibrating with impatience to get back to his kid. His _kid. _Whose life was in Batman's hands. Usually he'd be comforted by this fact, but now…

"I knew it wasn't going to kill him."

Barry raised his eyes to meet the Bat's arched brows through his cowl. "Pardon?"

"You heard me."

A growl escaped Barry's lips before he could stop it. "Yeah, I know. Give me a warning next time though? I'd like to know when you're testing my nephew to find out the patterns of his de-aging problems, okay?"

Flash couldn't be sure, but he suspected Bruce was rolling his eyes from behind his eyepieces while he busied himself with the samples. "Alright. This time it's for real. Happy now?"

"Ecstatic."

"Wally's rubbing off on you," Batman remarked. "Your sarcasm's getting stronger."

"Yeah, well." Barry shrugged. "That kid's affected a lot of me."

Batman paused in his tests and looked at Barry, and for a second he could've sworn that a ghost of a smile flickered onto the Dark Knight's face. "What?" Barry said self-consciously.

His teammate didn't answer, and Barry had a sinking suspicion that he'd just missed an inside joke. "Done," Batman said, and held up the tube of blood from Barry. The speedster looked away—blood didn't exactly sit well with him, despite him being both a police scientist and a superhero, both of which requires him to be around it.

"Awesome," Barry said, jumping down from the table. "Can I go now? I need to tend to my kid."

"In a moment," Batman said. "The concoction shouldn't take long. It'll cut time. The more Kid Flash uses his powers, the more likely it is that this won't work, and we need to get this to him as soon as possible. We just need to hope that the five-year-old in him doesn't discover how to turn on his speed."

"Awesome," Barry said again, this time sarcastically. "Okay, fine. But hurry up, you're so _slow."_

Batman gave him another look, one that practically reprimanded him without the man needing to say a word. "Another second." Something _dinged, _and Batman pulled out the tube from whatever machine he'd put it in—Barry didn't recognize it, which was unusual for him, being a scientist and all—and poured it into a cup, adding only a couple of drops of the Redbull can that was still sitting on the table.

He turned and set the cup in Barry's hand with a "happy now?" look on his face. "There. Report back to me if it works or not."

_"If _it works?"

Batman's jaw twitched, and Barry held up his hands in surrender. "Alright, fine, but if it doesn't, I'm telling the league you made my kid turn back into a sea monkey!"

"I believe the term is _fetus," _Batman corrected, but Barry was already out the door. He raced along the halls, trying to find his boy, but he didn't go far when screams—childish, young screams, but definitely Wally's—assaulted his ears.

"Wally," Barry breathed, and he changed directions immediately, heading for the sounds of pure and utter terror, a sound that should never come from a five-year-old.


	5. Chapter 5

**Me: Heyo guys I'm back! I apologize for taking so long (my internet was out, but now it's back... I think)! This chapter has been ready for a while, so now I feel all bad making you guys wait.  
>Wally: Lost would also like to strangle-<br>Me: THANK, Wally! Thank!  
>Wally: Whatever, she wants to thank everybody who guessed that Wally might be having nightmares, because they were all right.<br>Me: I thought I was being sneaky. -eyeroll- Obviously, I thought wrong. Anyways, enjoy!**

**A/N: Also, most of five-year-old!Wally's behavior is based off of my four-year-old sister. There are some wide differences there, I know (she's a girl, never been abused by anybody in her life, a whole half a year younger than him, that sort of stuff) but I have, like, zero experience in the matter, so I guessed. :P Hope I was close?**

Superboy was the first to notice Barry as he flew into what must've been Wally's Mt. Justice room, and with a slight incline of his head he redirected the blonde's attention to Wally, who was thrashing about from beneath the red and yellow covers. "He's having a nightmare," the teen said simply, but his dark blue eyes flashed with something that was almost concern.

"We can't wake him up," Artemis explained from the foot of the bed. She had one hand on Wally's arm, trying to comfort him, but the little boy still had tears tracing tracks on his cheeks as they dripped off his face and onto the pillow.

"M'gaan has attempted to enter his mind," Kaldur started.

"His nightmare's so bad he's lashing out at me," Megan said in an apologetic tone from her place in the back of the room. She was alternating between wringing her hands and pressing her fingers to her temples. "As long as he's dreaming I can't calm him down!"

"Wally," Iris said softly. She was on the other side of the bed, taking Wally's other hand. "Wake up, honey, it's alright."

As Barry stepped into the room Wally shot bolt upright, screaming, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I didn't mean it!" He stared, wild-eyed, at the roomful of people and started to cry again. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please, don't—" His voiced cracked a bit and the sobs took over.

Barry reached for the boy but he shrunk back, visibly flinching as if he was expecting a blow. Barry's heart shattered into a million tiny little pieces right there on the spot, while Artemis inhaled sharply and stood up, backing away slowly from her ginger teammate. Iris shot Barry an agonized look, and Barry understood. Wally's nightmare was most likely about his father.

As Wally's screams slowly shifted into whimpers, eyes squeezed shut and an arm thrown up to protect his face, Barry walked slowly around to kneel at the foot of his bed. "Wally?" he said softly. "Wally, look at me, kiddo."

Wally shook his head emphatically, and tears squeezed out from his eyes again.

Barry could hear Iris ushering everyone out of the room, and he caught Robin's eye as he turned to leave. Even from behind the mask, he could feel the anger and horror that was rolling off the thirteen-year-old in waves, but, oddly mature for Robin that Barry remembered, he gave the mentor a nod of approval and walked out with the others.

Now that the distractions were gone, Barry slowly shifted forward and placed his hand lightly on Wally's forearm. The boy practically jerked from the contact, cringing so hard it almost brought Barry to tears. Carefully he pulled his cowl down and looked hard at his nephew. "Wally, look at me now."

Wally shuddered with effort to stop his tears, biting his lip, and he lowered his arm slowly, turning to look at his uncle. Barry smiled as he caught Wally's large, clear blue-green eyes. They seemed to be shifting from blue to green and back again as the boy battled his emotions. "There, now that wasn't so hard, was it?"

The five-year-old shook his head.

Barry held out a hand for him to shake. "Hey, there, Wally. You don't know me, but I'm—"

"You don't have red hair," Wally interrupted bluntly. "Flash is supposed to have red hair."

A bubbly laugh escaped Barry before he could stop it. "It's the red suit, isn't it? No, Wally, I don't have red hair like you do."

"I hate my hair," Wally said. "Daddy says, says that red is for… girls, and that I'm not a man if, if, if I have red hair." He seemed to stutter over his words, like he couldn't remember what to say as he was saying it. Barry'd never worked with toddlers before, but he suspected that was how they all talked.

"Your daddy told you that?" Barry had to take a deep breath, slowly chanting to himself that Rudolph West was in jail for child abuse and still had a while to go before he would be out. "Well, I heard that red hair makes girls _really _like you."

Wally wrinkled his nose in true toddler fashion. "Why?"

Barry thought about it for a second. "Well, now, that's a good question. Maybe, next time you see a girl, you ask her."

The boy looked extremely concentrated on that, but at least he wasn't crying anymore. Barry had almost forgotten how the younger Wally could flip on a dime. "What was that dream you had, Wally?" he asked softly. "It sure sounded like it scared you."

Immediately the boy looked away, fingering the hem on the comforter cover that lay in his lap. "It wasn't _that_ scary," he mumbled.

"Come on," Barry said, "you can tell me. I'm a superhero, I fight scary things."

"Daddy isn't, isn't, is not scary," Wally said, but he sounded uncertain and he still wasn't meeting Barry's eyes. "I just did some, some, something that made Daddy mad, that's all."

"It is never your fault," Barry said forcefully. "Listen to me, Wally, what your dad does is wrong, okay? He shouldn't—" He took a deep breath, trying to force the word out. "He shouldn't _hit _you. It's wrong, and I should know."

Wally just looked like he was about to cry again, and Barry suspected he said the wrong thing. He sighed and brought out the cup Batman had given him. "Here, want some pop?"

Wally looked at the cup warily. "That doesn't look like pop."

"Yeah, well." Barry shrugged and pretended to drink the energy drink solution. He'd never really liked Red Bull, although Wally couldn't get enough of the stuff. "Delicious. The perfect thing little boys need to keep up their energy if they're going to be a superhero, like me."

"Really?" His eyes grew large and bright, bright green this time. "I can be a, a, a superhero, like you?"

"Well if you're asking me," Barry said, leaning in and winking, "you're already a superhero. But I'd drink it anyways, just in case."

Wally stared at the drink, and then at his childhood hero, taking the cup with tiny fingers.

…

Superboy punched the punching bag, and it snapped off the chain and flew a good twenty yards before smashing into the back wall of the training room.

"Dude!" Robin exclaimed, annoyed. "We have specially made punching bags for the guys with super powers. Go find your own!"

The anger was seeping off Superboy like he was radiating heat, and he just gave Robin a look before kicking Robin's other punching bag, albeit he did so a lot _lighter. _"You can't hear what they're talking about in there," he muttered under his breath.

"We don't need to," Artemis grumbled from her seat at the bench. "It's pretty damn obvious what happened when Wally was a kid."

Megan's eyes filled with tears. "I just can't believe a father would do that to his son," she said quietly. "How long has that been going on with him? Why didn't he tell us?"

"His dad's in jail," Robin supplied. "Serving a ten year sentence for child abuse. He was tried when Wally was nine after… well, I should let him tell you that. But Wally wasn't adopted by Barry and Iris until he was twelve, and he had to stay at an orphanage for three years because his mother wasn't deemed as "fit" by the court."

"Poor Wally," Megan whispered, clasping her hands as tears rolled down her face.

"You never would've guess Baywatch was hit as a kid," Artemis said softly. "He's just so…"

"Happy." It was Superboy who completed the sentence. He caught the punching bag as it swung from the punch that had sent it reeling and rested his forehead against the cool material. "Wally is ridiculously happy."

"We mustn't speak of this to him when he turns back to normal," Aqualad said seriously. "This is something Wally must do on his own. He will come to us when he is ready."

"No he won't," Robin said from his perch, staring out the window at the glittering waters of Happy Harbor. "This is something Wally never wanted anyone to see. Ever."

At that moment the sliding glass doors slid open, and Barry walked in. Everyone stood and waited impatiently, staring at the mentor for news. Barry smiled at them. "Calm down, everyone, it worked. Well, his _body's _a fifteen-year-old, I don't know about his mind." He sat down wearily on the mat, and the teens crowded around him as if it were story time back in elementary school.

"I know you guys saw something you probably shouldn't have," Flash started out. "I don't know how much you know about it, so I'll just tell you what I know." He sighed and ran a hand through his blonde hair. "Wally's father started drinking about when Wally was three. I don't know how long he'd been hitting or abusing Wally. Five years is a starting point—although, granted, it's an appalling one.

"Wally met my wife, Iris, at the age of seven, but Iris didn't know about the abuse until he was nine, and then she fought her brother tooth and nail for custody. Unfortunately for the two of us, we didn't have the money or the time to adopt Wally full time, but we did manage to put his father away for the damage he'd done. After that, Wally, went to live at the orphanage."

"What happened to his mom?" Artemis wanted to know. "The court said she was "unfit" to be a mother."

Wally's uncle gave her a look. "Do I even want to know how you know that?" The blonde girl gave him an innocent smile and he shook his head. "Mary wasn't a _bad _mom. She just refused to believe that Wally was being abused by his father, and after Rudolph was arrested she just couldn't handle the stress." He sighed. "It was Mary who told the court she was unfit. Wally was sent to the orphanage. Three years later, we adopted him, and a couple of months after that he recreated the lab experiment that gave me my power and became Kid Flash."

"Poor Wally," Megan said again, looking down at her lap. "He's been through so much, and yet he acts like he's had the best childhood anyone could have."

"Wally's like that," Barry said, shrugging as he stood to leave. "I'm getting an emergency call from the league, but if he wakes up, you come straight to me, understand?"

"Understood," the team chorused, and as Barry pulled his cowl on back over his head he smiled at the remaining members of Young Justice.

"Wally's lucky to have friends like you," he said sincerely. "Call me when he wakes up."

There was a rush of wind and slight heat and then the hero was gone.


	6. Epilogue

**Wally: FINALLY! It's over! **

**Me: What are you so happy about? This was _your _idea.**

**Wally: Since when is putting myself through emotional turmoil ever my idea?**

**Me: Since you became my muse.**

**Hey, all! So it's over! Thanks for everyone who commented and favorited and alerted and all that jazz! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it!**

**Enjoy!**

Wally woke up slowly, which was a first. Usually he was either asleep or he wasn't. When he woke up normally, it was with the usual accompaniment of an alarm clock or his beeper signaling hero duties.

There was nothing to wake him up this time. As his eyes slowly blinked open he recognized the dark ceiling of his Mt. Justice bedroom. Shadows danced across the walls from beneath the crack in the door as footsteps passed, faded, and passed again. Somebody was pacing. And he was in his Mt. Justice bedroom—even further proof that something had been seriously wrong.

Wally tilted his head to the side, spotting his clock among the clatter on his dresser. With a shock he bolted upright. "Seven at night?" he whispered into the dark. "How long was I out for?"

The footsteps stopped at his door, and there was a light knock on the wood. "Wally?" Megan's voice drifted to him. "Are you alright in there?"

"Uh, yeah, I think," he called back. As he stood up he recognized his Kid Flash uniform on the side of the bed, along with two sets of clothing that were violently too small for him. As it was he was in a black t-shirt and white and silver sweat-pants—the usual "scrubs" in the superhero business. Wally crossed to the door and pulled it open.

Outside stood Megan and Superboy, Megan with her hands clasped together and held down at her waist, and Superboy leaning against the wall with is arms folded across his chest. The Martian's eyes lit up upon seeing Wally and she flung herself at him. "Omigosh, you're back!"

"Uh, yeah," Wally said, confused, but never one to turn down a hug from a pretty lady. "What happened? Where's Rob and Ice Princess, Aqualad?"

"Ice Princess?" Artemis appeared suddenly to Wally's right, arms crossed. She had a frown on her face, but Wally could see the smile tugging at her lips as she looked at him. "I see that what happened hasn't changed your sense of wit—or lack thereof."

"KF!" Robin exclaimed, dropping down from the ceiling. "You're awake! Awesome!"

"Hey, Rob," Wally greeted. "Now, we all know each other, correct? Anybody wanna tell me what the heck happened? Was I asleep for long? Did I get attacked, what?"

The others hesitated and looked at each other. "You don't remember anything?" Megan ventured finally.

Wally rubbed the back of his head. "I remember getting blasted with the yellow beam from hell, but after that's a little fuzzy."

There was another pause as the rest of the team looked at each other. Wally got the distinct feeling they were all linked up but him and crossed him arms, annoyed. "Uh, hello, I'm right _here."_

Robin put a hand on Wally's shoulder and grinned at him. "It's good to have you back, Wally."

The others echoed the statement and started to move off, leaving Wally dumbfounded. "Where have I been?" he called. "Guys? Guys!"

…

Nobody would talk to him, but they sure were acting weird. Megan was hesitant in talking to him, as if every word she said would break him into tiny pieces. Robin had disappeared, along with Superboy, and Artemis just stared at him for a long time when he swung by her room.

Wally found Kaldur in the briefing room and was with a smile and a nod. He'd just hung up with the Flash as he walked in. "Was that my mentor?" Wally asked.

"It was," Kaldur said, inclining his head. "I was informing him of your progress. Unfortunately he is on a league emergency and doesn't know when he'll be able to get back."

Wally blinked. "Alright. Well, nobody else will talk to me, so how about you? Do you know what happened to me?"

Kaldur gave him a gentle smile, like he was talking to an eight-year-old or something. "I do not believe it is my place to say."

"Awesome," Wally groaned. "Something happened and nobody will tell me what it is! Why are there kid's clothes next to my bed? Why can't I remember anything?"

"The yellow beam affected you," the older boy said carefully. He hesitated. "You were changed."

"Changed how?"

The Atlantean stood. "I have some business to attend to," he said abruptly. "If you'll excuse me?"

"What?" Wally turned and followed Kaldur out of the briefing room. "But you didn't answer my question."

"I told you Wally," he said patiently, "it's not in my place to say." He put a hand on Wally's shoulder, silver-blue eyes calm. "I can say this, though—it wasn't your fault. You did nothing wrong."

Wally blinked and stared as Kaldur walked out of the room, disappearing down the hall. A couple seconds later the computer announced his departure from Mt. Justice.

…

Superboy was in the training room, beating one of his punching bags senseless. Wally found him there and leaned against the door frame, watching the boy release his anger the only way he knew how. Finally his blows slowed and he stopped, panting, leaning forward to rest his forehead against the cool material.

"What are fathers like, Wally?" he asked softly.

Wally started. He wasn't sure what surprised him more—the fact that Superboy had used Wally's name, or the question. He walked into the room, thinking about it. "I don't know," he said finally. It was an honest answer.

Superboy turned his head to look at him. "You had a father."

The redhead chuckled. "True. I don't think he qualifies as a father figure, though."

"Why?"

"When do they ever?" Wally easily deflected the question. He didn't want to talk about his dad. Not now, not ever. "Is this about Mr. Stick-up-his-butt?"

There was the slightest twitch of the lips on his teammates face, and Wally celebrated for getting that far. "I guess."

Wally walked over and sat down on the mat. "Don't worry about it," he told the clone. "He's the type of person who runs from his problems. He doesn't know how to deal with it, so he buries it and pretends it never happened."

"Like you?"

Thrown off guard, Wally stared at Superboy. The clone seemed to realize he said something wrong and stood up straight. "Thank you, Kid Flash," he told Wally. And then he walked out of the room.

Wally sat on the mat, thinking hard about what the clone said. For someone so brutal and angry, he sure was innocent. Like a child. His green eyes slipped closed as he thought of himself as a child. Terrified of everything.

A sinking feeling settled in his chest as the pieces started to fall into place. He picked himself up and headed for the lab.

…

Robin was just leaving the lab, so Wally had to duck out of the way before his best friend could spot him. As it was he was positive Robin felt the slight draft of wind that fluttered his cape, but he must've passed it off as the metallic door sliding closed because he didn't stop to investigate. Wally waited until he had disappeared around the corner before cautiously entering the lab.

It was sterile, as always. Wally went straight to the computer, where most lab write-ups were stored. He didn't get very far, though, when he attempted to log in, hitting Robin's firewall. He swore under his breath and pushed away from the computer terminal, rubbing at his face.

Robin must've known Wally would try to figure out what happened to him and taken extra precautions. Wally sat back and thought on it for a while, hand in his chin.

"Okay," he said aloud. "So the computer's blocked. What about the paper copies?"

He went over to the file cabinet and pulled at the drawer. Locked, naturally. Wally hesitated—he could try vibrating his molecules enough to either destroy the lock or the drawer hinges, but that would risk destroying the file he was looking for. So that path was blocked as well.

Wally was about to give up when he noticed the test tubes. There were three of them—one labeled with his name, and the other two with Barry's. They were locked behind a glass case, but Wally knew where the key was usually kept. He raced out of the room and returned in the same second he left, the key in his hand.

He unlocked the glass case and reached for the vial. A second and a half later the microscope was powered up and he was pressing his emerald eyes to the lens, adjusting it so he could focus better.

A second and a half after that, the lab was empty, both the microscope and the vial of blood back in their respective places with no evidence of being touched.

…

"Okay, now what's he up to?" Artemis muttered, tapping her foot as she waited impatiently for the speedster to show up.

The team had been assembled in the briefing room upon Wally's request—or demand, in cases like Artemis'. He told them he'd be right back and disappeared into the teleporter, leaving his teammates in a confused state.

Robin shrugged. "Maybe he remembered."

She frowned. "But Batman and Flash said that wasn't likely, because to him the situation never would've happened. The brain cells weren't _re-developed, _they just returned to the state he'd been in before the beam hit him."

Megan wrung her hands. "I hope he isn't too angry," she said anxiously. "We've really been blowing him off."

Robin gave her a reassuring smile, although on the inside he had the feeling that they were in for a huge lecture on Wally's part. His suspicions were confirmed when Wally showed up a couple minutes later, dragging his mentor behind him.

"Okay," he said when they were all facing him. "I get it. I turned into a kid again, said some things I should've, and now you all know that my dad was a jerk." He let out an angry breath.

Startled, Barry sent an accusing glance towards the teens. "Wasn't them," Wally said, shaking his head. "I found out myself. What I want to know is, _why _is everyone so different about it?"

Artemis opened her mouth, but Wally cut her off. "No, you need to hear this," he said. "Yeah, I was abused by my dad for the first nine years of my life, but that doesn't change _me. _I'm still me. I don't get why everyone else is treating me like I'm still eight!"

"Wally," Megan started to say, but she drifted off, not sure how to finish the sentence.

"Seriously, guys," Wally said, taking a step back and spreading his arms. "Look at me. I'm me, okay? What happened still happened, but I don't let that bother me, so you shouldn't let it bother you, either. And for God's sakes, I'm not a child. Don't treat me like one." He shot an angry look at his uncle. "What happened wasn't your fault. It wasn't anybody's. I haven't seen my dad in six years. I don't want to ever see him again. So do me a favor, and don't try to spare me the memories. I can deal."

Barry stepped up first, wrapping his arms around his nephew. Wally stiffened for a second, but relaxed and hugged him back, the rest of the team joining in. Artemis hung back, staring hard at Wally and thinking about what he said. As the rest of the team said their apologies, she slipped out of the room, figuring she had a lot to think about.

…

Wally spent the night on the roof, staring at the stars. It was a beautiful night, and he could make out every last one of the constellations from where he sat. The night was peaceful and silent, which gave him even more to think about.

He meant every word he'd said to the team, but for some reason he still felt troubled about it. Now that the team knew about his childhood, they seemed to be treating him like something that would break, cautious of every word, every action they made. That was why Wally didn't want to tell anyone in the first place—because he wasn't fragile and he could take the words and watching other people with their dads. He was lucky, because he had an uncle who took the place of a father. Other people weren't so lucky. It made his blood boil just thinking about it.

But he didn't want his team to see him differently. He'd been handling all those subtle, flippant remarks about fathers since he was nine years old. He wasn't any different—but the others sure were.

The door to the roof slid open and out walked Artemis. Wally was surprised to see her, considering she had disappeared during the love fest earlier. The blonde didn't say anything, just sat down next to him, criss-cross, and leaned back on her hands.

They sat in comfortable silence until Artemis finally said, "You had better take me seriously, because I'm not in the mood to screw around."

This made Wally smirk, but he had the feeling Artemis wasn't joking. So instead he said, "I'm listening."

Still, Artemis hesitated—probably to see if his sincerity was a trap. After a moment she said, "It's been driving me crazy all night. How… how do you, you know… deal?"

She shot the redhead a sideways glance and hurried on. "I mean, for someone who's had a father who was just… how can you stay so _happy?"_

Wally thought about it for a moment. "Because I had something better," he admitted. "I had Barry, and Aunt Iris. It took me a while, but once I realized what I had, I didn't want to let it go. So I didn't think about him."

"You can't not think about someone who was your own flesh and blood," Artemis said darkly.

Wally backtracked. "No—there were those moments. But by him being a total jerk to me and Mom, he made me who I am. For the better. So now I'm better than him, and I can live with that."

Artemis was silent for a while, and Wally let her be. They stared up at the sky as the silence stretched, listening to the whistle of the waves lapping against the beach, and the noise of the street down below.

Finally, Artemis said, "Thank you Wally." She paused for a second, and then gave him a sly look. "But if you tell anyone about this, you won't be waking up the next day."

"I hear you loud and clear," Wally chuckled. Artemis stood and walked back to the door, leaving Wally to the stars

Wally laid down and stretched, tucking his hands behind his head. He had good friends.

...

_Almost **five children die every day** as a result of child abuse. More than three out of four are under the age of 4. _

_About 30% of abused and neglected children **will later abuse their own children,** continuing the horrible cycle of abuse._

_Only 10.8% of children abused by parents is done **physically, **while almost 60% is through **neglect.**_

**_You don't have to be touched to be abused. If you hurt, be it through contact or words or even lack of either, get help._**

**_You are not alone._**


End file.
